Reaction to Oklahoma City Memorial

After looking at this memorial I think it is designed to make us reflect on the fact that our lives and the lives of all these people can be changed in one horrible minute.  It made me sad and a little angry.  It definitely speaks to the horror of what occurred.  The values placed forth by the designers were ones of contemplation, reflection, sadness, and memorial to those innocents who were murdered that day.  The wall of survivors, though I could not see any visual image of it, speaks to me about those who were forced to pick up and carry on their lives despite their tragedy.  The fact that they placed this on the damaged walls of the original building provide a metaphor for the fact that those who remain behind will still stand despite their damage.  The wall looks out over the dead and the pool, and remind us that they will forever look out over the damage done, and bear witness.  The survivor tree speaks of the same thing.  The other image that caught my eye was the rescuer trees.  These trees represent those who gave life through their efforts, who worked hard and are now continuing and improving on the rebuilding that took place after the bombing.  As a rescuer myself I can understand the meaning.  I also noted that they too look out over the chairs and witness the dead they could not save.

The national identity being formed here seemed to me to be one of both remembrance of the crime and how it is anathema to us as a country, and also of rebuilding, of saying that Americans will go on, will take the tragedy and make something of it.  Will use it to think about our lives and then rebuild them.